Thursday, December 22, 2011

Well another year has come and gone and a wonderful year it has been. I find myself writing another Christmas Newsletter which is so hard to sum it up in just one page.

Dalan turned 7 this year and is in 2nd grade! He plays Junior Jazz Basketball and is in a Kung Fu class with Hunter and his cousins. He loves to read, play with his Pokemon Cards, play video games and play with his friends and cousins. He loves riding his bike around the neighborhood and loves going to scouts with Mom, we call it "pre scouts" He loves playing laser tag at Trafalga and prides himself in being one of the best! He ran (walked slowly) his first 5 K this year along with the whole family. We came in last place, but we did it! Did I mention that he likes to read?

Hunter turned 6 this year and is in Kindergarten. He had so much fun celebrating his birthday at Cornbelly's - we got to go 10 times this year (thanks to their discounted season pass). He got to play Junior Jazz with Dalan in January and is looking forward to a Kindergarten only league this year. He is in Kung Fu and loves learning new moves. He learned to tie his shoes (woo hoo!) and is working on saying his R's :) He loves to ride his bike with Mom while she runs. He can climb to the top of the rock climbing wall at Trafalga in record time. He takes good care of his sisters and even unbuckles their car seats to help Mom and Dad out (woo hoo). He loves to play with friends, watch TV, color, read, jump on the tramp, and ride his bike.

Ellie turned 4 this year and is in year 2 of Preschool. Our preschool is only 2 doors down from us, so she loves walking to school all by herself:) She started dance this year with her cousin after begging to do so since she was able to talk. She loves reading books with Mom, playing outside in the summer, playing with her twin sisters or her twin best friends. She loves getting her hair done, wearing dresses and begs to put on make up everyday. She loves helping Mom cook and clean and is the fastest garbage emptier in the house:).

Kaylee turned 2 this year and is anxiously awaiting preschool and cries every time the kids leave for school. She loves to put on her high heels and back pack and say "go to school" but currently the preschool isn't accepting 2 year olds :) She loves to play in her pretend kitchen, sing songs, babble some crazy language of hers, giggle with her sisters, look at animal books and sleep all night long:) She loves to ride her wiggle car and wishes she could ride around the block by herself. She keeps us busy and gives us lots of love with her long hugs and slobbery kisses.

Katalina also turned 2 this year and would rather die than do anything but stay right next to Mom. We finally got her to stay in Nursery, but just found out her teachers got moved to Sunbeams so we get to start all over with new teachers. She loves to do everything herself, tell Mom how to do her hair and cry when Mom makes her wear pants instead of a dress:) She loves Makeup, hair do's, Barney, and her siblings. She ran her first mile without stopping. (8 laps around the inside track). She loves to talk, give hugs, ride her wiggle car, and get out of bed several times each night in hopes of getting in Mom and Dad's bed.

Doug is still running the business, keeping up with the kids and making his wife happy. He spent 2 days in the hospital and scared us all, but came out OK and made us all that much more thankful for our health (and for him)! His official diagnosis was Pericarditis, but with about 10 days of pills was back to normal. He goes to the gym whenever he can get out of the house, and plays basketball with the ward in between injuries:) He is serving as Elder's Quorum President and is loving it.

Rochelle is talking in 3rd person which is weird, but she is taking care of the kids, shooting photography, cleaning the house, taking care of the yard, teaching Water Aerobics (10 years now!) and Running. She ran a Marathon, two Half Marathons, and a bunch of 5k's, but the true work was back at home while Doug watched all the kids while she trained and ran all of these races. It was fun for her to train and run with April, she has never had a running buddy before. She serves in the Scouts and loves it because she gets to be with her boys, and is starting to figure out this scouting thing:)

As a family we were able to make 4 trips to San Diego to visit Sea World since we got an annual Pass there. Those road trips were a definite highlight of the year, and we learned all the tricks of driving 12 hours each way with lots of little kids. We love it in San Diego, but probably won't be back for a while:)

As we celebrate this Season, we are grateful for Family, Good Friends, Great Neighbors, and Him whose birth we celebrate. May you all have a wonderful Christmas and May all your wishes come true this upcoming year.